These women have changed the world with science...Too bad a man was given all the credit...

[LongTomH]

36. Add Rear Admiral Grace Hopper to the list

Rear Adm. Grace Hopper was one of the pioneers of programming languages and compilers that allowed programs to be written in English-like statements. Her work on the FLOW-MATIC language contributed to the invention of COBOL.

She retired in 1966, with the rank of Commander. She was brought out of retirement, when the Navy needed her to work on the COBOL compiler. She finally retired again, in 1986, with the rank of Rear Admiral.

I remember seeing a video of one of Hopper's lectures at the first computer services company I worked for:

During many of her lectures, she illustrated a nanosecond using salvaged obsolete Bell System 25 pair telephone cable, cut it to 11.8 inch (30 cm) lengths, the distance that light travels in one nanosecond, and handed out the individual wires to her listeners. Although no longer a serving officer, she always wore her Navy full dress uniform to these lectures.

"The most important thing I've accomplished, other than building the compiler, is training young people. They come to me, you know, and say, "Do you think we can do this?" I say, "Try it." And I back 'em up. They need that. I keep track of them as they get older and I stir 'em up at intervals so they don't forget to take chances."